Nintendo’s ‘Yo-Kai Watch’ Is Here. Is It the Next ‘Pokémon?’

“Yo-kai Watch,” a Japanese videogame franchise about hunting ghost-like creatures, is launching in North America Friday.

Nintendo on Friday is launching a popular Japanese videogame in North America, the next chapter for a franchise that has raked in more than $2 billion in sales of games, toys and more.

The franchise about hunting ghost-like creatures, made by Level-5 Inc., is so popular in Japan that it spawned a television show and movie, a dance craze, and toys that sell out across the country.

If that all sounds familiar, it’s because Nintendo helped generate a similar frenzy on playgrounds nearly two decades ago with “Pokémon,” another Japanese game about hunting magical creatures. To date, that franchise has sold about 275 million copies, which Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter pegs at about $8 billion in sales.

“Yo-kai Watch” and a sequel have combined to sell 8 million copies. Based on their success in Japan, the new version for Nintendo’s 3DS hand-held machine could bring in “hundreds of millions of dollars” in revenue if it takes off in the U.S., said Sartori Bernbeck, an analyst for industry tracker EEDAR.

To generate buzz, Level-5 is working not only with Nintendo but big media and toy companies, too. A “Yo-kai Watch” TV show is already airing on Walt Disney’s Disney XD channel, while Hasbro is teeing up a line of toys for an early 2016 launch.

“Yo-kai Watch” will be the first game Nintendo has published in North America with support at the outset from both a big media and toy company, Nintendo said.

The multipronged launch could help Nintendo sustain momentum. Its line of amiibo “toys-to-life” figurines have likely generated more than $250 million in revenue, based on unit-sales figures, and a few Wii U games recently sold a million units. But its console is decidedly in third place and a successor — codenamed NX — is still a mystery.

Demand for the 3DS, meanwhile, has waned amid increasing competition from smartphones. Last month, Nintendo’s stock price tumbled 9% after the company delayed its first smartphone game until March. (Level-5, meanwhile, released a “Yo-kai Watch” smartphone app on iOS last month.)

Nintendo is buying up commercial airtime in movie theaters to promote the game. And it is hosting a launch event at its flagship New York store Saturday.

Nintendo Co.

“Yo-kai Watch,” made by Level-5 Inc., is so popular in Japan that it spawned a television show and movie, a dance craze, and toys that sell out across the country.

“It’s a major media investment,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo’s U.S. arm. He declined to provide details on spending or compare the launch to “Pokémon.”

There are other hurdles. The line of “Yo-kai Watch” toys from Hasbro, including a watch, action figures and more, aren’t hitting shelves until January, after the crucial holiday season.

“We wanted to make sure we had enough runway to build up the concept,” said Jerry Perez, senior vice president of global brand marketing.

And “Yo-kai Watch” will face intense competition for gamers’ attention. Electronic Arts’s “Star Wars Battlefront” launches Nov. 17. A new “Halo” from Microsoft is already out. And trendy toys-to-life games are arriving from Activision Blizzard, Disney and Lego A/S.

Takahiro Noguchi of Kumamoto, Japan, said he has spent more than $500 on “Yo-kai Watch” games and toys for his 9-year-old son, Daiki, over the past year and a half. “Seeing my son smile, I can’t resist,” Mr. Noguchi said.